A study in white
by YellowSign
Summary: Team RWBY must deal with Weiss' temporary absence, whilst Ruby herself comes to terms with what each of her team means to her.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first attempt at publishing any of my writing, I think I went overboard on the descriptions and it is a tad archaic at times but we'll see. Also, I didn't plan on there being any pairings in this story but I'm setting up a poll in case anyone does. Feel free to review and all that, enjoy!**

Chapter 1

Beacon academy, one of the most renowned combat schools in Remnant, lies perched atop a mighty cliff. When it was built, the world was a much more dangerous place, and the protection provided by the sheer drop was invaluable. Of course, in recent times this protection has been unnecessary, but a fortunate side effect of this positioning is the achingly beautiful views from Beacon. Even from the landing pad you can see for miles on a clear day, the vast expanse of Forever Fall covering the landscape, snaking around mighty peaks that jut from the land like talons. Beyond this lies Vale, slightly too small for a city but slightly too large for a town, flickering from its many lights. A great ocean then stretches to the horizon, cargo ships slowly crawling their way across its surface, reduced to mere dots due to distance. All this and more can be seen from Beacon, and for those students brave enough to climb the minarets, Emerald forest lies sprawled over the land in all its majesty and glory.

However, not everyone was taking the time to enjoy the view and one Weiss Schnee was hurrying back from Vale, shopping under her arm, frown upon her brow and curses upon her lips.

"This is the absolute last time I do this for them. I gave them one job, _one job_! And can they do it? Of course not."

The heiress was mumbling under her breath, and had been since leaving Vale. The sun was lazily sinking in the sky, and soon the twin moons would be visible. For now, the long shadows cast by the evening light and the slight chill as a hint of a breeze ghosted past were doing nothing to improve her mood. Shifting the bags in her arms to a more comfortable position, Weiss increased her pace and headed for the airship still docked in the docking station, waiting to ferry students and others to Beacon. Judging by the light, this was one of the last airships today, and the irritable Weiss now would be as nothing to the apocalyptically furious Weiss her teammates would have to deal with if she missed it. With both hands occupied, checking the time on her scroll was right out so she sped up just in case, the gentle hum of the engines slowly getting louder as she approached.

Mercifully for the rest of team RWBY, and indeed the majority of Beacon, Weiss was able to make her airship and she sat down with an exaggerated sigh, the scowl from earlier still adorning her face. As she stretched out her aching fingers and reached for her wallet, Weiss reflected on the day up until that point.

Not long after teams had been allocated, the need for luxuries within team RWBY was raised. Sure, Beacon provided basic amenities in food and water, but anything else that was needed the students were required to purchase themselves. Most teams quickly worked out a system to send someone to Vale on a semi-regular basis and do all the necessary shopping, but on this instance it had gone wrong. Both Ruby and Yang had added extra things to the list on the morning of the shopping trip and Blake failed to take this into account, not bringing enough money to pay for all the, in Weiss' mind at least, extravagance that the sisters seemed to need. Were it any other situation they'd have been on their own, but with Weiss going into Vale herself anyway, she begrudgingly agreed to grab the necessary items on the condition that she would be able to set the terms of the repayment herself. If she was honest, Weiss didn't really need the lien but she was sure she could find some other method of repayment. Maybe some form of exemption from washing up, or first shower in the morning. She wasn't quite sure what, but her time was important and if those two idiots were to waste it they deserved everything they got.

Preoccupied thusly, Weiss almost missed the announcement of the imminent approach of Beacon, moving towards the back of the crowd of people in an attempt to avoid being crushed on the way out. She still wasn't sure what a lot of these supplies were for, and why they were so urgent that she was greeted with the undignified sight of Ruby begging her to get them. Honestly, why did either of them need dust? The school had a stock supply that was cheaper than shops in town, and if they really needed it badly then Weiss could lend them some. She had more than enough for herself, and if it would avoid something like this, she'd gladly lend them some. But no, Ruby insisted that she buy some dust to be used as propulsion for that scythe of hers. As she continued to think the crowds in front of her eased up and she was able to exit the airship and head towards Beacon and her room.

Walking along the corridors of Beacon, Weiss saw out of the corner of her eye the sun beginning to set, both moons visible by now and illuminating the stunning view. She sighed again, regretting missing most of the evening. With it being a Friday, and a bank holiday weekend, she had wanted to get an early start on her work for the weekend and then maybe she could relax with a hot shower or something: she'd certainly earned it. Now it looked like she'd be lucky to get anything done before heading to bed which would make tomorrow even busier. Rounding the last corner she placed some of the bags on the ground, retrieved her scroll and opened the door, above which the words 'Team RWBY' were inscribed.

Of the three occupants of the room, only one of them turned to face her, a pair of silver eyes looking up from a mug of coffee. Lifting the bags through the door, Weiss dropped them deliberately loudly to prove a point, closed the dorm door forcefully and marched towards the bathroom, grabbing a pile of her clothes in the process. She obviously couldn't see it but she could picture her room-mates reactions almost perfectly. Blake would continue reading, although she might thank the heiress for helping with the shopping; Yang would grab her stuff from the pile unceremoniously dumped on the floor and likely read from one the magazines she insisted was imperative and Ruby would probably do that dejected look she did so well before sorting through her things and keeping out of Weiss' way. None of this mattered at the moment because right now, all Weiss wanted was a shower. Beacon may have its flaws, but when you're under a veritable waterfall of piping hot water, steam rising through the room, you tend not to notice them.

As Weiss enjoyed her shower, the heat seeping into her muscles and fully relaxing her, she couldn't have been more wrong about her teammates. As soon as they heard the shower go on they quickly got into action, moving the piles of shopping to their relevant places before Ruby headed towards her bed and rummaged around under the mattress for a few seconds before raising her hand triumphantly. She returned to her sister and Blake and motioned for them to huddle. Whispering, perhaps a tad unnecessary due to the noise of the shower, Ruby barked out instructions to her teammates.

"Okay guys, we owe her this no matter how mean she is to us usually. Just try and be nice to her, and Yang, when you have to talk about her clothes, do it in the least creepy way possible. Got it?"

Two swift nods were all Ruby needed, and they all turned round ready to greet the heiress with smiles on their faces, some perhaps a bit more forced than others. Ruby's timing had been a little off and they spent a bit longer waiting for Weiss than they anticipated, smiles slightly fading and postures slouching. Despite this, they were still surprised when the bathroom door opened and Weiss strolled out in her pyjamas. Noticing them all stood facing her with slightly demented grins on their faces she backed off slightly, only for Ruby to stride forwards with a confidence she really didn't have and thrust her hand towards her teammate.

"Here you go Weiss, we got you these! Well, I thought of them but Yang paid for them but that's not important right now. We thought that we've been making it too hard on you recently, what with the shopping and everything. And there was that time with the training grounds. And lunch yesterday. And-"

Ruby was cut off by Weiss raising a hand with a confused look on her face,

"Got me what? Ruby, if you're on about whatever's in your hand then I can't see them properly from here and you've got your thumb over most of whatever it is."

Rather bashfully Ruby lowered her hand, presenting it towards Weiss. With a sigh, she accepted Ruby's gift and looked them over, the look of confusion replaced by one of shock and maybe even the hint of a smile tugged at her lips. They were a pair of weekend tickets to a luxury resort, a very expensive luxury resort if they were what they claimed to be.

"Ruby, are these…. genuine?"

She queried, a much softer tone to her voice than usual and the iron grip she'd had originally now almost slack.

"Yep! We thought you needed a break after all the work you've been doing so we found somewhere that knows how to treat you! If you're not too tired there's an airship that will take you there that sets off in about an hour, otherwise you'll have to wait until the morning. Yang packed you some clothes and-"

Once again Ruby was cut off, but this time Weiss looked a lot less amused,

"Hold on a second. You let YANG near my clothes? Have you any idea how valuable some of those outfits are? My jewellery alone is worth a fortune! I very specifically keep my clothing separate from the rest of yours for this exact reason! If any-"

It was Weiss' turn to be interrupted, this time by a tired looking blonde who had quickly shed her fake smile and was now looking at her accuser with dangerously narrowed eyes.

"Let me stop you right there, _princess_" she said, deliberately over-emphasising the nickname, "We carefully selected some outfits for you so that you don't end up stuck with nothing to wear in the middle of nowhere. If anyone knows about looking good around here it's me, and remember that we're doing a nice thing for you here. Don't make us regret it."

For a split second it looked like Weiss was about to argue back, a barbed insult likely lurking on her tongue, but she merely set her jaw, looked pointedly at Yang for far longer than she needed to, then returned her gaze to Ruby who was now looking downcast at hearing the bickering.

"I'm sorry Ruby. Do go on."

She forced out, still with half a mind to let loose on Yang. This had the desired effect and Ruby perked up instantly, her previous melancholy now gone. The speed of her change of mood caused a small part of Weiss' mind to question whether this was deliberate before the sound of Ruby speaking brought her to.

"It's okay Weiss. Anyway, we got the tickets and Blake even rang ahead to make sure you got the absolute bestest treatment ever!"

Resisting the urge to inform Ruby that there was, in fact, no such word as 'bestest', Weiss pondered the proposition. She did still have a lot of work to do for next week but if needs must she could probably take a bit to do, and if she worked hard on Tuesday she would almost be caught up. Plus, she could do with some relaxation time round about now. It felt weird having something bought for her like this by people who couldn't really afford it. Thinking about it, this probably cost more than any one of them could afford so they likely all contributed. This made it much more personal than the presents bought for her by sycophants and nobles yearning for her affections. She was genuinely touched. However, one thing was still bothering her.

"Ruby, why are there two tickets? These things are expensive enough; I doubt you can afford two."

The atmosphere noticeably shifted and a panicked look flashed across Ruby's face before Blake rode to her rescue and spoke up.

"Actually, that's up to you to decide. We thought that you've spent too much time on your own, both in Beacon and before. We're your friends, not just us three but everyone here, and if you want to take someone for company you can."

Weiss was visibly shaken, both by the fact that she had forgotten Blake was there with how quiet she had been and by how true the words hit home. Whilst her life hadn't exactly been strenuous at times, with her family's line of work there had been a few very difficult times and many lonely nights. Even if she argued with them a lot, she genuinely cared a lot for her team, and this gift was incredibly thoughtful. Still, the prospect of taking someone with her to a retreat for an extended weekend wasn't something she exactly relished. It wasn't as though there was anything wrong with them per se, it was just that everyone has their demons, and Weiss' were worse than most. She was sure that in due time she'd reveal them to her teammates and her friends, but she wanted that to be on her terms. Vaguely aware of how much she had zoned out, Weiss turned back to face her team,

"Thank you, all of you. I didn't think you were capable of such kindness but you've proven me so, so wrong. This means a huge amount to me and I swear I'll find some way of repaying you. Now, where were those clothes you packed?"

Blake looked at the heiress for a brief moment, and had Weiss been paying attention, she would have noticed a slight frown on her face before she reached for a suitcase and presented it deliberately slowly to her white-haired teammate.

"Here you go, all packed and ready. Are you, erm, are you going to take someone with you?"

Weiss grabbed the suitcase and looked at Blake with a slightly sad smile as she replied,

"Sorry, no. At the moment I think I really need some me-time, and whilst you guys are great company I feel I'd enjoy myself more and you'd get more of a break from my rants if I were to go alone. I hope you understand."

And with that she turned around, shouted another quick thank you at the door and left for the airship set to take her away for a sorely needed relaxing weekend.

Had she turned glanced behind her on her way out she would have seen Blake look defeated and half-heartedly place an arm in front of Yang, who was full-on scowling at this point and would likely have pursued Weiss and given her a piece of her mind. Ruby meanwhile slowly sank to her knees, arms hung limply by her side and face distorted by sorrow and self-depreciation. Had she seen this, Weiss would likely have turned back to her team but it was not to be and she headed off, unaware of the hurt she had left behind.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Here's the second part of this story, there are undertones of some ships here because when I wrote it I wasn't sure whether I would include any shipping. There's a poll on my profile where you can choose which ships you want (if any) or send me a PM or leave a review. The next chapter will take a lot longer but I'll get it out at some point. I own nothing.**

Chapter 2

As she once again boarded an airship, Weiss took a moment to fully process the conversation she had just had with her team. Normally in a situation like this she would have contacted her father, or at least someone in his company just to let him know where she was likely to be, but she was far too preoccupied with her thoughts to remember something that trivial. It wasn't often that the whole team worked together outside of combat where it was necessitated by the danger, and to have them all, even Yang, go out and buy her something that most certainly wasn't cheap had never happened to her before. For the life of her, Weiss simply couldn't understand it. Sure, she worked hard and was often seen doing more than was required but she wasn't the only one, and loathe as she was to admit it, she often treated her team in a way unbefitting one of her station. So why had they done it?

Pausing in her thoughts to gaze at the view, far less visible now in the moonlight, Weiss sighed and leaned back against the headrest, enjoying the cool leather against her neck. She would have to find a way to repay them, seriously this time, but she was stumped as to how to go about it. Maybe, maybe she should treat them to something similar. Ruby had given her two tickets, right? Surely it wouldn't be too hard to get tickets for the rest of her team for another time. It would be just like now, only with the roles reversed! She would have a weekend without their incessant whining and they would get the pampering that each of them deserved. It was such a flawless plan, at least in her eyes, that Weiss felt a smirk etch itself upon her face. And why not? Surely she deserved to be smug every once in a while. That smirk quickly turned into a yawn, however, and she realised just how tired she really was. Having already shown her ticket and with the knowledge that she would have a good few hours rest before she got there, the heiress closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Unbeknownst to her, the dorm was in complete disarray. Blake was busy trying to reason with Yang, who for her part was wildly gesticulating and shouting at her exasperated companion. Ruby meanwhile was still sunk to her knees, head hung low and arms limp by her side. A loud knock on the door interrupted Yang long enough for Blake to open it and gaze tiredly into the face of a concerned Pyrrha. Apparently their shouting match had reached across the hall and was currently keeping JNPR from their sleep, and being the most responsible, Pyrrha had decided to do something about it.

"Blake? I know it isn't really my place, but is everything okay? You seem to be making a lot of noise in there."

"Don't worry about it," Blake forced a smile that she really, really didn't feel up to, "We're just having a small discussion is all, sorry for waking you though."

Blake did seem somewhat sorry for keeping her friend up, but Pyrrha could see straight through her normally competent façade to the shattered and exhausted girl underneath. Quickly making up her mind, she forced her way past a startled Blake and into the dorm, surveying the room and deciding almost instantly that this was a bad idea. Whatever was wrong with Ruby seemed something big and she really didn't feel comfortable asking what it was right now. Add this to an irate Yang and Pyrrha felt unusually out of her depth. Hesitating slightly she was about to back out of the room when a now visibly angry Blake rounded on her.

"What was that for?" her brow furrowed as she spoke, "You can't just barge into someone's room like that, especially when you _know_ something's up!"

Still out of her element, the confident and authoritative Pyrrha of the battlefield was replaced by a nervous and embarrassed Pyrrha who was backing away from the now furious Blake. Even Yang had stopped her mini-freakout to watch, and Blake showed no signs of relenting.

"What gives you the right? What gives you the right to just march on in here like you own the place? Why do you have to butt in on our problems? We don't interfere with your team, we don't just stroll in through the door when we're Definitely. Not. Welcome!"

The harsh staccato of Blake's final sentence must have been enough to bring Ruby to, because the faunus felt a light tug on her sleeve. Expecting it to be Yang she whirled round to give her a piece of her mind, only to soften her expression at the sight of Ruby. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, tear streaks down her face. Both shoulders were shaking in time with her quivering jaw, and she looked distraught, the pain clear on her face. Judging by the weak grasp on her arm, Blake guessed Ruby was exhausted, both mentally and physically, and she let out a long breath she didn't know she was holding as she lowered her head.

"I'm sorry Ruby, I guess I just got a bit carried away there." She simply said, pulling the younger girl into a hug. The lack of reciprocation from Ruby was somewhat worrying, but Blake ignored that for now, turning to a still-scared Pyrrha.

"I shouldn't have shouted like that, this day's been far too hard on me. You're right, there is something wrong and whilst it isn't really your business, you meant no harm. Thinking about it, you might well be able to help."

Blake indicated for Pyrrha to sit, which after a slight hesitation the red-headed girl did. Ruby once again sank to the ground and Yang, who seemed to have been quite intimidated by her teammate, gingerly joined them after closing the dorm door. All the while, Blake rested a hand on Ruby's back, slowly patting it in an attempt to soothe the younger girl. Leaning forward to gather something from the floor, Blake began to tell of the past few days.

Two Days Earlier

Ruby Rose was sat on the edge of her bed, dangling her legs over and swinging them slightly. Normally such behaviour would earn her a serious reprimand from Weiss, but with today being a Wednesday the first year students were treated to a half day. Some used this for extra weapons practice. Others for catching up on work. Ruby preferred to spend her Wednesday afternoons planning some form of group activity for the weekend, usually with some form of hidden agenda. The reasoning was that by occasionally having something to do as a team that wasn't beating the crap out of monsters and villains, they would learn more about each other as people. In reality, Ruby just wanted to spend more time with her team because she liked them so much, even if it wasn't always reciprocated.

The sound of the door opening drew her attention away from the pile of papers on her bed and she looked over to see Blake enter the room, delicately balancing a pile of books with one hand whilst she opened the door with the other. Glancing over at her teammate briefly she closed the door before placing the books into two distinct piles on her bed and turning to Ruby.

"What are your plans this time?" she said with a knowing chuckle, folding her arms across her chest as she awaited Ruby's response.

"Well, I know this weekend's a bank holiday so I thought we could do something a bit different. It's just…. Weiss and Yang haven't exactly got on well recently so I thought we could get something just for them. You know, help them bond."

Blake merely smiled at her leader's naivety: it would take more than a day or two out for the two more fearsome members of RWBY to reconcile, but she approved of the optimism at the very least. With little to lose and a lot to potentially gain, Blake shrugged and unfolded her arms, offering one to Ruby. She took it and jumped down from her bed, the frame rocking dangerously as she did so, and faced the older girl, making no attempt to conceal her grin. The two sat down on the edge of Blake's bed and Ruby began outlining her plan with the aid of the papers she hurriedly retrieved from her own bed.

After almost an hour of being talked at the young faunus was seriously doubting this idea her teammate had concocted, but to avoid upsetting Ruby when she was this enthusiastic she held her tongue. Raising her hand to stop a wild gesticulation she looked her leader in the eyes and waited for her to stop talking before she began.

"That's a very nice idea Ruby, truly it is, but have you considered that maybe Yang and Weiss would prefer to sort out their problems in their own time?" she paused to get a measure of what reaction to expect but was only met by a curious look from those large, pale eyes. Coughing slightly she resumed, "and could you perhaps have an ulterior motive here Ruby? I've spent enough time around you to know that you aim to please one member of our team above the rest. Sometimes to the exclusion of."

That last part came out a little harsh, but she felt it necessary to raise the concerns she was having, and now seemed as good as any. There weren't any significant issues with team RWBY, but Blake had noticed, though she doubted the others had, that Ruby would spend more and more time trying to please Weiss. Some days it seemed like the redhead would pander to her every whim and Weiss was completely oblivious, most likely used to this from her pampered lifestyle pre-Beacon. Blake allowed herself a wry smile as Ruby became flustered almost immediately: she'd hit the nail square on its head.

"I …er, well …..I guess I sometimes, but that's not the point!" Ruby pouted, looking at Blake with a slight scowl on her face, "I value you all as teammates. Weiss just needs a bit more understanding, that's all."

It wasn't often that Blake Belladonna looked smug, but this was one of those times and she most certainly felt it. "Ruby," she softly called, getting the teen's attention, "I never mentioned Weiss."

If Ruby had been flustered before she was full on panicking now. Both cheeks were practically glowing and she seemed incapable of forming coherent words; spluttering and stumbling as she attempted to get a sentence out, anything to refute Blake's claim. Her inability to do so was more damning than any words could have been and she seemed to know it, rising and attempting to leave as quickly as possible, before a firm hand on her arm stopped her.

"Ruby listen, it's okay. I was just teasing you a little. Don't worry about it. I know you value her as a teammate and this is how you try to make things up with her. I'm sure she'd love something like this."

A long sigh filled the room as Ruby stared intently at her shoes, reminding Blake of a young child recently reprimanded. For a minute it seemed like Ruby would spend all of eternity just gazing downwards and when she spoke her voice waivered and cracked.

"It's just; I really want this team to work out. I mean, Yang's Yang and you always lend a hand but I don't know about Weiss. I just want her to, to like me." The last part was almost a whisper, and indeed Blake would likely not have heard it had she not been a faunus. Briefly, she wondered whether there was more to this than Ruby was letting on, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind in order to focus on soothing the broken girl sat beside her.

Wrapping one arm around Ruby's shoulder, Blake gently pulled the younger girl towards her and slowly rubbed her hand over her shoulder. Ruby sighed once again as she rested her head on Blake and silently let out a few tears she had been holding back. Seeing this, her teammate gently reached out and plucked one from her face, balancing it on her fingertip and marvelling as the light danced through the tiny droplet of water. After a moment simply admiring the tear she slowly closed her hand, rubbing it into her palm as she softly spoke to her leader.

"Ruby, our team is one of the best in the school. We even make some of the second years look bad! You really don't have to worry about these things, and if you find yourself like this then come and speak to us. We only want the best for you and through you the team. As far as Weiss goes….. I think it might be best if we let her choose who she goes with. That way, you still get to treat her but she doesn't feel pressured into spending a few days with someone who she, uh," Blake searched for a phrase that wouldn't potentially upset Ruby even further, "who she maybe needs more time to get along with."

Much to her relief she felt Ruby's head nod against her side and bar a few sniffles, she seemed to be perking up rather quickly. Now it was simply a matter of bribing Yang to agree with this and setting things up for that Friday.

Of course, Blake had no idea how badly this would backfire, but as she finished explaining she looked around the room to gauge reactions. Yang was now leaning against the wall, arms crossed and her usual bravado reinstated. Pyrrha was looking very concerned and was glancing between Blake and Ruby. The young leader meanwhile had her head bowed, shoulders shaking as tears once again rolled down her face to pool on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Don't get used to updates this frequent, I had a good chunk of this written out already so it didn't take as long as I thought it would. Anyway, I have plans for this that could take it to many more chapters but for now here's this. I'll likely close the poll on Monday so if you want a say then do it before then. Once again, I own nothing.**

Chapter 3

Despite her early years being full of extravagance, Weiss rarely got to indulge in the luxuries that were presented before her, and this made the white-haired girl almost giddy. The airship had docked early on the Saturday morning and after tiredly shuffling to her hotel, already a room for two booked out, she slept until almost midday. This was unusual for Weiss but she felt like she had earned it, and if she was honest she needed to catch up on some sleep anyway. Quickly changing into slightly warmer attire she wandered around the halls, aiming for the breakfast hall she could clearly smell, but not fussed about how long it took. Life in Beacon was often stressful, so to have a few days where she didn't have to give the slightest consideration to any of the homework, the weapons practice and the inevitable assignments was nice. It made the heiress feel unexpectedly free.

When the airship had landed, Weiss was almost asleep and it was nearly pitch black, so she hadn't gotten a good look at the resort she was staying in. With a good few hours' sleep and the clear light of the day, Weiss could see just how fantastic a place it was. Even from the breakfast hall Weiss could see across a valley, from here it looked like maybe Atlas? Menagerie? Large coniferous forests followed the sloping landscape until they met a range of mountains standing proud and regal as the sun rose behind them, casting menacing shadows over all. The flickering lights on the valley floor were an indication of a town that Weiss made a mental note to check out, and she could just about see evidence of a road snaking its way through the many trees.

Almost sinking into her seat, Weiss realised just how comfortable the clothes she was wearing were, and decided to thank Yang when she rang her team later that day. She may dislike her brute of a teammate at times, but she had certainly come up trumps this time. The sounds of a bowl being placed in front of her got Weiss' attention, and she looked down to see a fruit salad glaring back at her. Seeing the food reminded her of just how hungry she was, and she hurriedly devoured it as politely as possible. Some habits die hard.

After finishing her breakfast, Weiss headed towards the reception of the hotel, sleepily waving a greeting to the girl manning it as she went outside. Instantly recoiling from the glare, Weiss shielded her eyes with a gasp. The cold air forcing its way into her lungs gave her a slight shock until she was able to peek out from behind her hands.

Snow. That was the first thing Weiss saw. Lots and lots of snow, a thick carpet on the pavement and piled against some of the buildings, fiercely reflecting the sunlight and causing the glare that pained her earlier. Putting two and two together, Weiss realised she must be on a mountain of some description; that would certainly explain the magnificent views earlier and the harsh sting of the air. Her team had booked her time at a mountainside resort. Almost giddy at the prospect, she dashed back inside to unpack, reasoning that she'd need a few things she hadn't anticipated, such as sunglasses, to fully appreciate this.

Back in the dorm of team RWBY, the four girls were sitting silently as if waiting for someone, anyone to say something. Something to ease the pain for Ruby. But no one could. No one could find a way of telling Ruby that her teammate had just rejected her offer to spend a weekend in luxury with her and had instead gone by herself and left her team to fend for themselves. A sudden knocking on the door shook them out of their gloom and three heads snapped up to look in its general direction. Rising to her feet Pyrrha reached out and opened the door, slightly surprised to see a nervous looking Jaune stood there.

"Oh, hey Pyrrha. We were wondering whether you were ok because you've been gone for hours," he trailed off, seemingly unsure of how to finish what he was saying, "It really is late and I think we all need our sleep."

Nodding slightly at her leader, Pyrrha turned to face the three girls still seated, one with her head still pointed resolutely at the ground.

"Jaune's right guys, we all need some rest. I'll contact Weiss in the morning and speak to her. I don't quite know what I'm going to say, but we can worry about that in the morning." Thus saying, she waved a simple goodbye to her friends before following Jaune across the corridor to their dorm. The sound of the door shutting seemed to have an effect on Blake and she clambered to her feet, offering an arm to Yang. The blonde graciously accepted and they both looked down at Ruby, still shaking slightly, though the tears seemed to have died down.

"Ruby?" Blake enquired softly, earning a slight grunt from the younger girl, "Ruby you heard Pyrrha. We should all get some sleep now and deal with this later." When said girl made no movement, Yang knelt down and gently lifted her up, placing her on Blake's bed. The faunus was about to protest, until Yang sent her a pleading look and she relented.

Shifting in next to her sister Yang pulled her close, feeling a weak arm grab at one of her own. Gingerly pulling her into a hug she quietly sang a lament as she did so. Yang never claimed to have a great voice, but something about the lament sent shivers down Blake's spine and she stared in wonder at her partner. How could someone normally so brash and cheerful be this delicate? And why was she singing a lament as opposed to a lullaby? Realising that she'd been subconsciously staring, Blake headed over to Weiss' bed to get some sleep of her own. As she lay down, the exhaustion that had been plaguing her finally hit home and she drifted off almost immediately. The last thing she saw before she enjoyed some well-deserved slumber was the sight of Ruby fast asleep and Yang holding her like she would never let go, instilling a new found respect for the brawler in her teammate.

The following morning, Blake awoke to the sun seeping through the drawn curtains and illuminating the room. She hadn't had the best night's sleep as Weiss' bed was far softer than her own and she had felt like she was falling through the mattress all through the night, but there was no time to dwell on that now. Reaching for her scroll, which in the madness of last night she had forgotten to remove it from her pocket, she checked the time. 9:17. Contemplating getting up, Blake decided that with it being a Saturday, she might as well lie in for a bit, casting a glance over to her bed where the two sisters still lay in each other's arms.

Finding the sight endearing despite the fact that it was her bed they were in, she fumbled with her scroll in an attempt to set an alarm, but quickly gave up and drifted off to sleep again. This proved short lived, as her teammates woke up soon after she did and were less than quiet about doing so, perhaps understandable given the previous night. They got dressed in an uncomfortable silence, nobody wanting to address the gloom lurking over them all. A sharp rap at the door indicated Pyrrha was awake, and they all prepared for a very uncomfortable conversation.

Weiss had certainly made the most of that morning, taking some time to explore the miniature village she was staying in. Most of the streets seemed dedicated to tourists, and a selection of massage parlours and the like were clustered near her hotel. Slightly out of the town was a ski lift, and Weiss was looking forward to checking out the runs that were available. She had never claimed to be good at skiing, but her father had a thing for skiing holidays, and more times than she cared to remember her family had gone to some god-awful shack in the middle of nowhere to stare down at blinding snow for a week before trudging back to their normal lives. She seriously hoped this would be different.

After she had enjoyed the local museum, despite it being a blatant tourist honeytrap, Weiss stepped out into the cold air once again, slightly more knowledgeable about the region. In Atlas (she felt slightly smug for guessing it earlier) there were many areas of rich mineral deposits, that when dust was discovered became irrelevant. However, a lot of the old machinery remained, and although she had known the basic history she found it refreshing to learn something new without the constant pressures of school.

Biting into a pulled pork sandwich, which she had only purchased due to being on holiday, she reached for her scroll and was surprised to see a missed call from Pyrrha. Frowning slightly, she debated calling back, but decided it could wait until later. After all, the call was almost two hours old. Who knew what Pyrrha could be doing now, and Weiss certainly didn't want to interrupt her friend.

Besides, right about now she could just do with a relaxing massage. Or maybe go to one of those fancy restaurants. She could book a table for two and- oh. A table for two. With a sigh she thought back to her friends, wondering whether she should have taken up their offer of accompanying her. After all, she got on well with most of them, and if this was their way of getting rid of her then they certainly picked an expensive way. But who would she have picked? Despite choosing her clothes well, Yang was often opposed to the heiress and would constantly argue over Ruby, who herself seemed to have an uncanny knack for trouble, something Weiss could certainly do without. Blake was a lot more understanding now despite the bad blood between them but even with everything she said, Weiss wasn't sure she could fully trust her. And it hurt to say it.

Running quickly through a potential list of other people she could have invited and coming up blank, Weiss shook her head and decided to get that massage she had been thinking about. So deep in thought was she that she missed her scroll going off, this time a call from a deeply distraught Ruby.

When Pyrrha had rung Weiss and she didn't pick up, the room had darkened. Yang, who had been cautiously optimistic until that point, had stormed straight out, most likely to the gym to let off steam. Blake had lowered her head and sighed, knowing she was going to be there a good chunk of the day comforting Ruby and she quickly put away her book. Pyrrha felt like dead weight. She had tried to mediate a peace both last night and right now, and both times it had failed. Hard.

Ruby had tried to give the impression of being all right, if only to dissuade her companions from staying, but in her current state it was easy to see through her façade. Blake and Pyrrha shared a knowing look and they sat down either side of her, an arm draped over each shoulder and a team hug shared between the three.

"I ju-just wanted to help th-the team," Ruby choked out, "and now I think I've torn it apart." The illusion of being fine she was trying to portray was swiftly dropped and she shook slightly from the stress of the past few hours.

It wasn't often that Ruby cried and right now she seemed to be doing her best to avoid tearing up. Blake and Pyrrha noticed this, and both wracked their brains in an attempt to find something, anything that would cheer up the young team leader. After a minute or so, Pyrrha jumped up, practically knocking the other two girls over. Mumbling an apology, she shot out of the door, into her own dorm and back again at speeds Ruby would have been proud to call her own, semblance notwithstanding. Dropping something on the floor she looked at the two seated before her.

"Ruby, how would you like to have a look at MilΌ? I don't normally let others handle my weapon, but you seem perfectly capable."

As Pyrrha blushed at her unintentional innuendo, she watched Ruby's face change. Gone was the turmoil of the past day or so and in its place was an almost naive but playful expression.

"Really?" she looked for approval, which Pyrrha gave with a slight nod and a smile, "Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" and with that the younger girl was busy disassembling the spear/rifle hybrid and looking at each individual part, occasionally pausing to wipe some dust or something off.

Blake and Pyrrha just stood back and watched; amazed that Ruby could be like this after almost breaking down. 'She really is a child' Blake thought, though not maliciously, and she allowed herself to pretend that Ruby wasn't just using this as an opportunity to forget about what had happened. Narrowly avoiding a bullet that went flying her way, for which Ruby apologised profusely, she turned to look at Pyrrha and saw that the other woman had come to the same conclusions she had. In about an hour they would have to call Weiss again, but for now they let Ruby work and play with the spear, now in several parts on the floor.

When Weiss didn't answer the next time, Ruby very quietly and carefully put her scroll down and walked out of the room, only to be knocked over by Yang returning, towel slung over her shoulder and skin slick with sweat.

"Oh, hey there Rubes. Sorry about that!" she said, as she hoisted her sister to her feet, "hey, what's wrong? Has Weiss still not called back?"

Ruby looked down at the ground as she slowly shook her head, shuffling past her sister and into the corridor. Yang watched her go with a pained expression on her face, turning to look at her partner.

"Has she been like this all day?" She was clearly concerned about her sister, and the fact that she asked Blake ahead of Pyrrha gave the dark haired girl a measure of satisfaction. "Only, I want to say sorry for leaving you guys earlier, I just, well I suppose I just got angry at Weiss. Why is she such a bitch to my sister?"

Blake chose her next words very, very carefully. An angry Yang is nothing to laugh at, and given how she'd reacted in similar situations, Blake felt like she was standing on some dangerously thin ice.

"Yang, she's not a bitch and you know that. She cares deeply for your sister, we all do. That's why she reprimands her when she does wrong: she doesn't want to see her fail. In fact, I don't think she fully understood the offer yesterday."

"I agree Blake," Pyrrha added, being helpful as always. Blake decided that she'd have to get her something nice for everything she had done, "whilst Weiss may act aloof at times, she wants what's best for her team and she has demanding standards. Perhaps she's been busy today. I mean, you sent her to a luxury resort so I can't imagine she's been on her scroll the whole time."

Fortunately for the two girls, and possibly for the structural integrity of the room, this seemed to appease Yang, who trudged off to the shower. Both Blake and Pyrrha let out breaths they didn't know they'd been holding and slumped down against the wall together. Looking after Ruby had taken its toll on them and they were shattered, even more so than the previous night. Blake vaguely recalled that at this time on a Saturday, Weiss would normally bring them drinks, but before long she had fallen into a deep sleep despite it being early afternoon. She could only hope things would become easier for her when she woke.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here's the next part of ASIW, I'm not particularly happy with this chapter but I struggled through. Just a quick word about the poll on my profile: at the moment there's one vote apiece for White Rose, Bumbleby, Ladybug and Enabler. I know I'm not good enough yet to write all four ships into my story, so the poll is staying open until I get a good feel for what people want. Besides, this chapter has hints towards most if not all of those so it should appease you for now.**

**I continue to own nothing.**

Chapter 4

When Weiss had finished with her massage and pampering session it was early evening, but due to the positioning of the resort on the mountain, the sun was fully obscured and most of the valley was cast into shadow. Had she been looking, she could have seen the sunlight resolutely clinging to the opposite mountain range but Weiss felt like she was floating on a cloud. Tension that she didn't even know was in her muscles had been expertly rubbed out, leaving her more content than she had been in a long while. She barely noticed her slight hunger as she returned to the hotel to change and maybe call her friends.

The girl who had been manning the reception when Weiss had left that morning had gone, replaced by a middle-aged man who had a slight whiff of cigarette smoke about him. Ascending the stairs, key in hand, Weiss looked back on her day. It had been a long, long time since she had been able to do what she wanted, to have a day where she could do nothing and yet do so much at the same time, and in this resort that her friends had paid for out of their own pocket, she had rekindled those youthful memories.

A tear found its way to her eye but she brushed it off, simply glad to have friends such as hers. Unlocking the door and laying her stuff down beside it, Weiss lay on her bed and checked her scroll. Concerned to find yet another missed call, she flicked through her contacts, briefly debating whether to call Ruby or Pyrrha first, before settling on Pyrrha. Ruby talked to her all the time, but if Pyrrha had something to say important enough to warrant calling her then the least Weiss could do was address it first.

Blake awoke to an annoying sound, a high pitched beeping. Rubbing her eyes and trying to ignore the bile in her throat she scanned the room wearily in an attempt to identify whatever it was making such a racket. A quick glance to her side revealed a still asleep Pyrrha clutching her scroll in one hand and a fully reassembled spear in the other. Groaning slightly Blake reached over to see whether her suspicions regarding the noise were correct, and sure enough the scroll was flashing; a sure sign of an incoming call.

Moving over to the other girl and taking it from her grasp, Blake opened the scroll to receive the call, her sharp eyes able to see the caller ID of…Weiss? Why would Weiss be r-oh, now she remembered. Realising she'd been spaced out for a bit there she quickly spoke, "Hello?"

"Blake? Is that you? No matter, perhaps you can help. Pyrrha rang me earlier this morning but I was unable to answer due to how much fun I was having here. I have to say, Ruby has outdone herself this time."

Blake had to stifle a yawn as she replied, the effects of sleeping during the day still apparent, "Weiss, you need to talk to her. Ruby I mean. She misses you a lot, and I think she intended for you to offer one of those tickets to her. Please, just give her a ring and see what she says. I think it'd do you both the world of good." And with that she hung up. Normally, Blake wouldn't resort to being so rude but at the moment she was really, really tired and wanted nothing more than a cup of tea. A cup of tea normally provided by Weiss, but there was no point in dwelling on that now.

Turning to her left, Blake noticed that Pyrrha was now awake and was looking at her in slight annoyance, and it took the faunus a second to realise why. Hastily handing the scroll over, she stretched and stood up, bracing against the wall for support. A sudden rush of blood to her head forced Blake to stand still whilst it cleared, and by the time it had Pyrrha was stood next to her, a smile on her face.

"Well that ended abruptly," she teased, noting how Blake's ears twitched at the comment, "Either way; I really should get back to my team. I haven't spoken to them since yesterday and I don't doubt they've done something stupid or just downright dangerous that needs sorting." And with that she pulled Blake into a swift hug before heading out of the RWBY dorm and into her own. Watching her go, Blake felt a surge of weariness wash over her. That cup of tea was looking mighty fine round about now.

In her time alone, Ruby had been thinking. Her distress she had shown in the dorm had been alleviated somewhat by being able to go for a walk, wander around Beacon and take in some of the views. It was whilst she was stood near the landing pad, looking out across Remnant that her scroll flashed, indicating an incoming call. Ruby answered without looking, enjoying the cooler night air and the breeze flowing around her and- "Ruby?"

"Ah, Weiss!" she squeaked and instinctively hung up. "Ah! Weiss!" was heard a split second later as Ruby realised what she had done and hit 'redial'. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Please answer this, please!" she muttered to herself as she waited for Weiss to answer. The dialling tone had never sounded so loud or as brash as it did right now to Ruby. The relieved sigh that came as soon as she heard the scroll being answered was quickly cut short when a harsh voice cut across through the earpiece.

"Ruby? You've got some explaining to do."

Yang had finished in the shower to see Blake and Pyrrha lying propped up against a wall, both fast asleep. The corner of her mouth turned up in a slight smirk as she changed into tracksuit bottoms and a zip-up hoodie, not her most fashionable outfit by a long way but definitely one of her most comfortable. Stretching her shoulders back to ease the tension she headed out of the room, intent on getting something done.

Yang wasn't known for her love of work, or indeed for her aptitude for the academia, but when she decided to get something done it ended up finished. Sometimes it took a long, long time and lots of nagging from pretty much everyone it seemed, but in the end she would always come through on her promise. At the moment she felt like doing an essay, any one of three they had been set, and ambled towards the library to do some research. With any luck, the books she needed would still be in stock and she wouldn't have to worry about ordering them for later.

A quick check of the shelves for both _Grimm Biology_ and _Grimm Biology, Advanced_ put paid to two of her essays, but she was more confident on finding _Remnant and its Sisters_. She knew that book was in stock because she'd checked by the other day to get it for Wei-oh. That's right, they knew she would have to do some work over the weekend and so they checked out a book for her and put it in her suitcase. Yang sighed, suddenly dejected at the realisation. They had done so much for her, so much! And all she did was throw it back in their faces. Hell, if Yang didn't like the heiress before then she certainly wasn't doing herself any favours right now.

Why couldn't she be more like Blake? You know; calmer, more intelligent, cooler, sexier? Yang smirked at this. She was an awful tease and flirt with most people, but for some reason she never tried with Blake, perhaps because she knew she'd be shut down with some witty comeback. Despite this the two got on well, Yang often the comic foil of the two but never taking it too far with the faunus. Hmm, she wondered whether they could give some tips to Ruby and Weiss. The two never seemed to stop bickering, Weiss always at her throat for some minor thing. Stupid bitch.

Deciding to abandon her search for the books Yang made her way back to the dorm, taking a small diversion to get a jog in. After all, it was fast approaching evening so not only would there be fewer students to gawk at her, the cooler temperature would make it easier. Her mind made up, the blonde headed out of the main building and along the cliff edge, making sure to keep an eye out for incoming airships.

This slightly unusual habit of hers had stemmed from yet another oh-my-GOD-can-it-get-any-more-boring practical lessons, where one partner would learn to defend the position of a fallen comrade. Blake had been the damsel in distress and Yang was her heroic knight, riding in to save the day. Or something like that at least. In reality, the area of forest they were dropped into was virtually deserted, and the two girls ended up lying in the grass, watching the many airships go by. Yang smirked: it beat counting sheep or making stupid shapes with clouds, and between the two of them it kind of stuck.

Passing under some of the many archways of Beacon, Yang said a silent prayer to whichever architect had the bright idea of building Beacon in a roughly symmetrical pattern; it certainly made navigating the pathways easier in the twilight and early morning haze. Despite the speed she was running, Yang caught a snippet of conversation and squinted ahead in an attempt to identify where the noise was coming from. Slowing down slightly she focused on what appeared to be a figure standing dangerously near the edge, clearly either talking to themselves or on their scroll. Yang thought nothing of it and was about to move on when she noticed the cloak draped over the shoulders of her mysterious stranger. With a knowing smile she zeroed in.

"…course Weiss, you shouldn't need to ask. Listen; can you please do me a really big favour? Can you please at least consider it? Uh… yep…. Yeah I agree… Ok, talk to you later Weiss. Bye!"

During this time, Yang had snuck up behind her younger sister with the intention of shocking her at least a little bit. After all, if the end of that conversation was anything to go by then Ruby had cheered up significantly, and it was her solemn duty as an elder sister to prank Ruby on occasion. Like just now, as she leant in close, head barely a foot away from Ruby's ear.

"Well you seem to have cheered up. Something on your mind?" she asked playfully, delighting in the almost heart-attack-inducing scare she gave to her little sister, watching her whip her head round, silver eyes wide with fear.

"Yaa-aang!" Ruby moaned, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest, "That was mean. And anyway, you shouldn't listen in on other people's conversations." Hmm, she had a point there. Still, it _was_ funny, and at times that was all that mattered to Yang. Draping her arm over her sister she led them both inside, her jog completely forgotten.

As she hung up, Weiss was deep in thought. Ruby had explained that the reason she had booked the resort was so that Weiss could take one of her friends and together they could relax and get to know each other as people as opposed to just teammates. As Ruby had so eloquently put it, "You'll trust someone with your life a lot more if you know who they truly are." And Weiss couldn't disagree with her logic.

There was something else though. Ruby deeply cared for each member of her team, and was willing to arrange this entire weekend for them. Thinking about it, Weiss didn't know of anyone else who would go to such lengths for their team, even if they were really close. Briefly, she pondered whether Ruby had an ulterior motive: by sending one of her team with Weiss she would have the other to herself for the weekend. Shaking her head, Weiss quickly discarded this idea. Ruby was only young, she probably hadn't even realised that this would be the case.

Still, she had to have a word with Blake though. The manner with which their conversation ended was simply unacceptable, and the faunus definitely owed her an apology, even if her heart was in the right place. The distinctly un-ladylike rumbling of Weiss' stomach dragged her back to the present, and she reached for the restaurant menu situated on the bedside table. That conversation could wait until later, and the opening hours of the restaurant were strangely limited, so quickly prioritising Weiss headed to get changed. After dinner she could sort out the mess her partner had created, but for now she ought to make the most of this beautiful, beautiful place.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Here's chapter five! I have to say, I had no idea how popular this would become. A real big thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, and an especially large thank you to those who followed or favourited. I personally don't like my own work, so to see such a positive reception makes me self-depreciate less. This chapter was written in three main chunks, one of which I was seriously sleep deprived for so I apologise for the slight drop in quality. I still own nothing.**

Chapter 5

Weiss stepped out of the shower, shivering slightly at the cooler air of her room despite the evening being relatively mild. Grabbing a towel she expertly did her hair up to prevent the seemingly constant dripping of water down her back and she reached for a larger towel, this one from atop the radiator, to dry herself with. Normally she would take her time with this but right now, she felt like she had not a moment to lose, for she had convinced herself that now she was to call Ruby.

Two hours earlier

Although she had been in the food court earlier that morning, Weiss hadn't really been paying attention to the room itself, preferring instead to look out at Atlas. Now though, she was able to truly appreciate the quiet elegance afforded to guests here. The dining room was a much larger room than she had anticipated, and Weiss wouldn't be surprised if it took up more than half of the ground floor. Stained glass covers on the many lights that had before gone unnoticed were now fully illuminated and cast a multitude of gentle colours across the tables. Heavy curtains were pulled across the gaping windows and a number of tables and chairs were scattered seemingly haphazardly over the floor.

The restaurant wasn't as posh as Weiss was used to; one glance at the wine list had told her that, but they seemed to be aiming for a homely style, something that would normally irritate the heiress no end, but today was something she just accepted. Whilst waiting for a waiter or waitress to take her order, Weiss had a moment, ever so brief but ever so important. Almost as soon as she opened her menu, she looked to her left and deadpanned, "Before you ask, no you can't start with dessert."

It took her a split second to realise exactly what she had said, and when it sank in, a hand flew to her mouth and she had to stifle a small cry. Ruby had become so much a part of her life that even here she instinctively looked to Ruby, albeit to chastise her. Ruby was THAT important to Weiss, and the revelation was shocking to say the least. Lost in her thoughts, Weiss tried to think of other times when she had looked to Ruby as a first resort, and the sheer number of times was shocking. How could someone that she didn't even like that much end up becoming so important to her? Shaking her head vigorously both to clear her thoughts and the redness that had found its way to her cheeks, Weiss hastily ordered something to take her mind off those disturbing thoughts.

A lightly grilled duck breast with an orange sauce had been an adequate meal, and although the portion was small, the flavours were certainly intense enough. More importantly, it gave Weiss something to do that wasn't thinking about Ruby. She had nothing against the girl, but for the life of her Weiss couldn't point out the moment when she became as reliant as this on the young brunette. Deliberately taking her time with her food, and only denying herself pudding because of that sandwich earlier, Weiss slowly got up and walked to one of the windows, leaning against it and enjoying the cooling sensation of it pressed against her bare back.

Knowing that she would be dinning alone, Weiss had deliberately worn clothing and jewellery with the Schnee emblem and had left them on view for all to see. She didn't get self-conscious about many things, but by reminding everyone just who she was, she hoped to avoid the unspoken questions of "_Who eats alone at a place like this?_" and "_Surely she's just here to get over someone._"

Most of the people dinning that evening were young couples, some of them barely older than Weiss herself. A general migration from the tables towards the bar as the hours ticked by was pleasing for Weiss, as it gave her room to think and allowed her to pretend she didn't hear the whispered remarks about her, ignore the hurried glances in her direction. If you had asked Weiss as to whether this bothered her, she would likely have snorted derisively and refuted your argument with barbed words and a sharp tongue, but deep down she knew that it affected her. She knew just how much those stares reminded her of less pleasant times in her past, memories she had wanted to bury deep in her mind and never relive.

Present time

Weiss told herself that she was planning what to say to Ruby when she rang her, but really she was delaying the call. With her mini-revelation at dinner, Weiss was initially eager to sort out any issues between the two, but as soon as she got round to it she found her confidence failing. In desperation, she tried a different tack and scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she was looking for: Blake Belladonna.

For the second time in about eight hours, Blake was woken up by her scroll going off. Exhaling in frustration she grabbed the infernal device, seriously considering smashing it to pieces for daring to wake her up, but when she saw the caller ID she relented. Weiss had caused her no end of trouble recently, but for now she had to be civil to her if for no other reason than for Ruby. Grumbling to herself she answered the call, trying not to let the frustration in her voice come through.

"Hello Weiss. To what do I owe the pleasure of your esteemed company?" she unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn as she said this, still half asleep.

"Blake, you know that boundary between complementing and toadying? Don't cross it. Besides, I came for some advice, specifically advice regarding Ruby." For some reason unknown to her, Weiss' breath hitched slightly at the mention of her partner and she found herself blushing furiously, glad Blake was unable to see her face.

"Ruby? Did you talk to her like I suggested? She put in a lot of work to get this weekend arranged for you. If Yang hadn't insisted I reckon she'd have paid for it as well." Wait, Yang insisted on paying? That didn't seem right, the relationship between Weiss and her fiery teammate had always been rocky at the very least so why would she pay for this out of her own pocket?

"-eiss? Weiss, are you still there?" Blake's tired voice floated out of the speaker on her scroll and Weiss realised she had spaced out slightly. Still blushing profusely the heiress hurried to reply lest the faunus think she was abandoning her.

"Y-yes, I'm still here. Sorry, I just…sorry," Weiss found herself unable to formulate a coherent response to Blake's question, and she was sure she sounded off, maybe even drunk. Ignoring these thoughts she pushed on, determined to finally get the enigma that was Ruby Rose cracked, "I just need to know what she is to me. Just yesterday I was thinking of throttling the lot of you, what with my whole excursion to Vale. But now? Now I don't know what to think."

An audible sigh could be heard as Blake replied, "Ok Weiss, it's late so let's get straight to it. How do you feel about Ruby?"

"She's my friend and my teammate, Blake why are you asking me this?"

"You know that's not what I mean. I'll ask again: how do you feel about Ruby?"

"Well, she's very… loyal; enthusiastic, sometimes too much so; she's skilled with Crescent Rose; she's saved my life many times although I think I'm still ahead; she rarely thinks about the consequences of her actions; she infuriates the hell out of me, and yet for some reason, I just can't seem to get her out of my head. Is this infatuation, Blake? Is that what this is?"

Blake took a second to answer, her tired mind still trying to process the stream of compliments that Weiss had paid her teammate. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if the Schnee heiress had used that many compliments before in her life. Still, the question at the end was a big one and she knew she'd have to answer it, if only to make Weiss go away and let her catch up on some much-needed sleep. Grunting slightly as she pushed herself up straight, Blake stretched her back out before bringing her scroll to within audio range.

"Honestly Weiss? I don't know. I don't know just how close the two of you have gotten, and I don't know about either of your pasts. From the way you worded it, it sounded like you've never felt like this regarding anyone before but I don't know that either. There are just too many unknowns at the moment for me to be able to justifiably say yes or no."

The pause from the other end of the line was expected by Blake; she had responded in a distinctly unhelpful way after all. What was not expected was the sounds of sobbing echoing through the speakers, which was almost immediately followed up by the call being ended. Blake had no idea what she'd just done, but she had the horrible feeling that everything had just gotten a whole lot worse.

Yang and Ruby arrived back at their dorm to see an exhausted Blake leant against the wall and staring into the middle distance with a still open scroll resting loosely in her hands. Unaccustomed to seeing the normally reserved and calm faunus in such a state of shock they immediately reverted to instinct; Ruby rushing over to comfort her friend and Yang activating her weapon and looking for an intruder or indeed anyone she could beat the living tar out of.

Ruby's presence seemed to snap Blake out of her daze, and she turned to look at her leader with a sympathetic frown on her face. A loud crashing noise, seemingly coming from the bathroom, indicated that Yang wasn't likely to be too long and Blake took this opportunity to pull her teammate into a tight hug, not knowing whether the younger girl would want to be this close to her after what had just happened. Lingering as long as she dared, Blake released the still surprised girl and steadied herself for another awkward conversation. She was getting really sick of those.

"Ruby I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry," she began, not quite knowing how to tell the younger girl what had happened, "I was talking to Weiss about, about you… All she did was complement you and say just how much you meant to her. And then I asked about her past. Ruby, I think something terrible happened to her, and because of me she'll always associate it with you."

Unable to contain it any longer, Blake had a mini-breakdown in the arms of her teammate. All of the tension and lack of sleep from the past few days, all of the stress of trying to mediate a relationship, all of it came out in a series of sobs and shudders. Due to her past Blake was less used to dealing with things like this in a normal way, instead suppressing all emotion that might prove a hindrance, so as she laid there weakly, many memories from darker days resurfaced. Memories of things she had done or things she had witnessed. On occasion, people she missed. All of this was coming to a head, and there seemed to be nothing Ruby could do. A gentle hand on her shoulder caused her to whip her head round, only to see Yang looking down kindly on the two of them.

"Hey there sis, I'll take it from here." She stated, leaving no room for argument. Ruby numbly nodded and tried to offload her teammate, but Yang simply bent down and lifted Blake from her arms, carrying her bridal style to Blake's bed.

Ruby watched on as tight hands desperately grabbed the leather jacket so fondly worn by the blonde and a head obscured by locks of raven hair buried its way into Yang's shoulder. A motherly smile adorned Yang's face, and she slowly sat down on the bed, gradually moving her arm from under Blake's legs to stroke through her hair. Blake for her part turned onto her side and continued her whimpering and sobbing, deeply grateful for Yang's presence.

There was something hypnotic to Ruby about the way her sister was treating her broken teammate, and in that instant she knew that this was something she wanted. Yang looked so content, a lament quietly escaping her lips as she comforted Blake in any way possible, currently acting as the rock she so sorely needed. They could deal with the whole Weiss issue later, for now all that mattered was ensuring Blake was alright. If Ruby was honest, she had always expected Blake to have demons, but she felt guilty that said demons had materialised through her own problems. Shrugging away those thoughts, she turned to look at the two girls on the opposite bed.

Blake was in a foetal position, and had relaxed her hold on Yang's jacket. Her sobbing and whimpering had almost subsided, and the only evidence of her previous state was the occasional shudder of her shoulders and the damp patch on Yang's shoulder. When she was sure her partner had ceased crying, Yang gently reached down and pressed a kiss first between Blake's ears and then onto Blake's forehead, lingering ever so slightly longer than perhaps she should have. Wiping away a lone tear that had found its way to her own face, Yang whispered to her friend.

"Don't worry Blake, we're here for you. I'm here for you." And so saying, she laid down beside the faunus girl, her powerful arms draping over the much more delicate frame of her teammate and pulling her in close.

Ruby watched the two in awe: even around her Yang was rarely this supportive. At that moment all she could see was her sister's back, so she slowly pushed herself up off Weiss' bed and headed out the door, not once taking her eyes off the sight before her.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Yeah, so there's another chapter of this. Not much to say about it really other than some of it is a bit silly, but I hope you enjoy regardless. Slight trigger warnings for the start of this chapter so be aware of that. The poll on my profile will be closed by the time I post this, it ended with a quite emphatic victory for White Rose and Bumbleby, but there are elements of some other ships in there too if you look hard enough. If I'm doing anything wrong then please let me know because I'm still very new to this.**

**Also a big thank you to Momoxtoshiro for helping me with this. Her stuff's way better than this crap so you might want to check it out if you haven't already.**

**I claim no ownership of RWBY or its characters.**

Chapter 6

Weiss lay on her bed sobbing. There were things in her past that scared and disgusted her, things she had tried so, so hard to repress forever. Some of them were relatively minor, but there was one memory Weiss kept returning to with a horrible inevitability. The Schnee mansion, supposedly a place where she should feel safest. It couldn't be further from the truth.

She remembered it like it was yesterday, even though she had only been a young girl at the time. She remembered the pale marble pillars, veins of deep red coursing through them as they held the colossal ceiling aloft. She remembered feeling the cold on her bare feet as she descended the chiselled stone steps, the carpet at the bottom of the stairs always too coarse for her and the discreetly placed pedestals, each topped with some extravagance or folly obtained likely as a gift many years ago.

The sound of laughter drew her attention towards the sitting room and she ever so carefully approached, even from here the harsh tang of tobacco smoke causing her to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Even with the door shut, light played across the cold stone slabs of the hall and splashed over Weiss' feet as she went on her tiptoes to see through a crack in the door. A number of elderly men were sprawled over the chairs, to a man holding both a cigar and a glass of brandy.

A throaty laugh got her attention as one of them told a joke and the others seemed content to humour him. As she watched, one of them raised his obese frame from the chair it had been wedged in and breathlessly addressed the room, "I'm going to relieve myself. Don't wait up." So saying he turned towards the door and began waddling forwards, for all the world looking like he would topple with each forced step. A voice Weiss recognised as her father's called after the man, "Take care not to piss yourself," which was met with guffaws from his companions and muttered curses from the fat person waddling her way.

Realising she may be seen, Weiss stepped backwards and rested her hands in front of her as she had been taught many times. Back straight, chin held high she prepared herself for this monstrosity. So these were the people her father socialised with? Her nose scrunched up in disgust: they seemed repulsive and obnoxious and at least one of them smelled very badly. A door slamming open shook her from her thoughts and she turned to look at the man before her.

Despite not being that tall, he still towered over Weiss. His grotesque belly was obscured by a white and red striped shirt and a pair of black suit trousers, the waistline worn far too high and the belt frankly unnecessary. He exhaled deeply with each breath and Weiss could see the sweat stains on his shirt as he pumped his arms in a vain attempt at keeping himself going. The glistening of his forehead and the dampness of his greasy hair indicated to Weiss that he was clearly exerting himself just walking. A great roll of flesh spewed out over his collar and pressed up on his bulbous chin and cheeks. All in all, Weiss found the man quite reprehensible, but she was taught by her parents to always be polite to these people, so she stepped forward with a slight curtsey and smiled at him.

"Hello, my name's Weiss Schnee," she began, trying not to look him in the eyes lest she offend him, "it's a pleasure to meet you." Deep eyes narrowed as he stared down at the young girl before him, and Weiss could have sworn she smelt the unmistakeable scent of alcohol clinging to his breath. All of a sudden he reached forward with surprising speed for someone his size and roughly grabbed her shoulder, eliciting a small gasp from the heiress. His other hand grasped on of the flimsy straps of her nightgown and pulled it from her form.

"C'mere you filthy whore," he slurred, his voice still punctuated by heavy breathing and a rumbling cough that echoed through his vast throat, "Learn your place!"

Weiss screamed, terrified of this man before her but this only seemed to enrage him. His face knotted into a frown and he began shaking uncontrollably. The hand that had been on her shoulder was now raised and viciously brought down on her face sending her sprawling with a cry. "How dare you! I should hang you right now. Filth." He reached down towards her with great difficulty but a booming voice cut through the hall.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Her father, dressed as always in an immaculate white suit, stood in the doorway, his cigar and brandy forgotten in the commotion. Weiss looked in his eyes as he took in the scene and she would never forget the pain she saw. Pain that he knew he had incidentally inflicted on his daughter. Had she been able she would have run and hugged him and never let go, but there was an obese and disgusting monster in-between them, his leering eyes scouring her. A deliberately loud cough cut through the air and her father stepped forward with pure malice on his face.

"Mr. Sykes. I believe it is best you leave this instant." Although barely a whisper, his voice carried far more weight and was significantly more intimidating than any shout would have been and Weiss was certain if he didn't comply her father was going to do something he'd regret. The grotesque man turned to face him and for a brief second it looked like he would stay, but eventually decided better of it and staggered towards the main door, muttering under his breath once again.

Her face was stinging from the force of the blow and she was on the verge of tears, but Weiss rushed over to her father and tried to give him a hug, only for him to turn away at her approach.

"Father?"

"No, Weiss. We can't talk about this now, and you should be in bed anyway."

"B-but, father?"

"I said no! We shall talk about it in the morning. Now go to bed!"

Stunned, she turned and fled to her room, the tears finally spilling over. Still sobbing Weiss threw herself onto her bed and cried into her pillow, letting the soft fabric bear the brunt of her hurt. Why had father said that? Shouldn't he have defended her? She felt betrayed, and the stream of tears continued to flow well into the night.

Weiss somehow knew that her father wouldn't keep to his word the following morning, and sure enough he frowned at her as she tried to bring up the topic, stating "You are too young to be burdened with this. Let me deal with it for now, and when you are ready we will speak of it again. Not before."

How could Weiss trust anyone else? How could she let Ruby in as a friend or perhaps something more? She had been betrayed by the one she trusted the most, and although she didn't realise it at the time, she was pretty certain Mr. Sykes had intended to rape her. Weiss shuddered at the thought, still genuinely scared of that man even after all these years. He never again was invited to the manor and she never saw him at social gatherings, but she highly doubted her father ceased business dealings with him. That wasn't his style.

Once again, Weiss Schnee cried herself to sleep, ignoring the beeping of her scroll. It wasn't often she let her emotions run wild like this, but the memory that Blake had unwittingly unearthed was so painful she could do nothing but. As she lay there on a soaked pillow she whispered Ruby's name over and over again in an attempt to calm herself. She imagined the brunette smiling at her, calling her name and laughing. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder, but all too soon that hand became calloused and rough, and Ruby's joyful face was replaced by that of a sweating and lusting old man. Weiss struggled to get much sleep that night, and what sleep she got was disturbed and tiring. All she could hope was that the morning would bring more peace.

Ruby had done a good amount of planning that night, and almost as soon as the sun rose over the glistening ocean, she began to put into action her plan. A plan that went by the name "Operation Cheer Weiss Up." Despite the somewhat revealing title, she had still prepared a brief presentation to give her sister and Blake to fully explain the intricacies and nuances of her cunning plan, and was on her way to deliver said presentation when she unconsciously stopped.

What had happened last night between Yang and Blake? Yang had seemed so content, so happy when comforting Blake and the Faunus seemed to yearn for her partner's presence. Was it just that Yang was the nearest person or was there more to it than that? Shrugging her shoulders and knowing that she wouldn't find out stood here, she pressed forward with renewed determination.

Gently knocking on her team's door, Ruby let herself in without waiting for someone to come and open it. Slowly, very slowly she moved towards the two lumps on Blake's bed, step after hesitant step until she was within a few feet of her teammates. Peering down at them, she couldn't help but stare; Blake had nuzzled into the crook of Yang's neck and her arms were loosely draped over the blonde, who in turn had an arm on her partners shoulder. But it was the calm on their faces that really got to Ruby. Despite all the hectic goings on recently they both seemed to have found peace in each other's arms, even if it was subconsciously. Once again Ruby was overcome with a longing, a need for that kind of security and warmth, but this time a name popped into her head automatically: Weiss.

Alarmed, she jerked back in surprise, unwittingly stirring her sleeping companions. Where did that come from? Weiss had nothing to do with this, Weiss was her best friend after all, and it would be poor form to think of her like that. Besides, Weiss was really upset, and cheering her up was far more important at the moment. A displeased grumble snapped her back to attention, and Ruby found herself looking into tired eyes. Tired _lilac_ eyes. There were few things more fearsome than her sister when she was moody, and waking her up at this time on a Sunday was more than enough to qualify.

Despite being woken up by Ruby's sudden movement earlier, Blake had swiftly fallen asleep again. The distinct lack of Yang was somewhat troubling, but her exhausted mind was willing to ignore that minor detail for now, in favour of getting more well-deserved rest. She had most definitely earned it, and given the lack of sleep recently, mostly due to Weiss it had to be said, Blake wanted nothing more than a nice lie-in followed by a calm, relaxing day.

So she was somewhat alarmed and annoyed to hear the sounds of gunfire echoing through the room.

Shooting to her feet she reached under her bed for her weapon she hurriedly looked around, only to relax slightly at the sight before her. Ruby was making full use of her semblance to evade a furious Yang who was chasing her little sister around the room, firing what Blake seriously hoped were blanks at her as she did so. Looking at the carnage, Blake realised with a sigh that Yang was in fact _not_ using blanks and that they would need a new front door. Debating over which one of the two should be the unfortunate soul to tell Ozpin about their, erm, 'decorating', Blake simply sat back, lowered her weapon and pulled out a book. Her teammates would tire themselves out eventually, but for now she might as well get some quality reading done.

A now seriously ruffled Ruby stood before her equally dishevelled sister and an immaculate Blake. The room had been given a quick once-over to straighten cabinets, remove imbedded shot and tidy the floor, and Blake had taken much delight in doing absolutely none of the work. After all, she was in no way responsible for the mess, and she'd be damned if she let the antics of her companions drag her down, even if it did mean the room was still quite the state.

Marker pen in hand, Ruby quickly scribbled something on a whiteboard she had procured from… somewhere, and turned to face her teammates, hands crossed behind her back. "As some of you may know, I have gathered you all here today because of recent events," Ruby began, doing her best impression of some famous detective or other, "recent events _most foul_." Blake had to tilt her head downwards in a feeble attempt to hide the laughter rising in her chest.

"Our mutual friend Weiss Schnee is currently enjoying herself in a luxury resort in Atlas, or would be were it not for a disturbing conversation." Casting a sideways glance at Yang, Blake saw that her partner was also trying to supress her giggles at Ruby's inspector impression, chin quivering slightly and eyes full of mirth. "Everything was going well until one of you made a crucial mistake." Despite the reminder of that awful conversation, Blake was nearly in hysterics at her leader's presentation and she had to fight back a few tears as a result.

"Blake Belladonna. You were engaged in the act of convers-" At this both Blake and Yang fully broke down, laughter echoing through the room and faces distorted by the sheer hilarity of Ruby attempting to be serious. "Guys, stop laughing! I worked super hard on this all night!" The whiny note to Ruby's voice was evident and even in her current state Blake tried her best to look her companion in the eye.

"I thought if I acted like a detective you'd treat me like one," by now Ruby was pouting and Blake felt her hysterics slowly dying down, the sheer cuteness of a pouting Ruby Rose overwhelming the hilarity of the situation, "can we please just focus on helping Weiss?"

"Okay sis, just give me a minute." Yang struggled out between giggles, trying her best not to upset her sister. Still, it _was_ funny. Turning to look at a now much calmer Blake, she crossed her legs in front of her and rested her palms on her thighs, staring attentively at Ruby. Blake meanwhile was quite alarmed to find a small part of her wishing that today was a weekday, if only so that Yang would have been wearing a skirt when she crossed her legs, but she quickly discarded that idea and pretended she couldn't feel the oncoming blush.

"All right Rubes, what's your plan?" Yang's use of her nickname for her sister was a sign she was at least somewhat coherent and would likely remain so for at least the next few minutes. Taking this as her cue to continue, Ruby leant forward, smile upon her face.

"We're going to pay Weiss a visit."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Here's the latest part in my main story, really sorry for the delay but I've been helping out Animewarrior12 with her fic 'Oh No!' I heartily recommend reading it, the premise is brilliant and all we're doing at the moment is working on grammar and descriptive work.**

**The time period between me releasing these is likely to be about a week, maybe more when I start uni in September. If you haven't already, it would mean a lot if you would check out a quick one-shot I did about a week ago called 'Every café has a silver lining', it's a nice bit of fluff and I might continue it if I get a positive enough response.**

**Back to this, I upped the tempo a little because I don't know how long I want this to go on for. If this is an issue let me know and I'll reconsider. I claim no ownership of RWBY or its characters.**

Chapter 7

"C'mon! Seriously, how can we _still_ be stationary? We're supposed to set off at 22 minutes past and it's already nearly half past! Even the display on the platform says so! Stupid public transport on a Sunday." Ruby was enjoying a good moan as the three remaining members of team RWBY were seated on an airship bound for Atlas. Much to Ruby's frustration, the airship they were on didn't go directly to the resort Weiss was staying at so they had to do a quick change at Atlas Central first. Still, it gave the team a good amount of time to talk.

"So Ruby. Have you decided what you're going to say to Weiss yet?" Blake carefully asked, wary of causing yet another upset. Her leader frowned slightly before replying.

"No, not yet. I mean, do I just start off with 'Hello Weiss we heard you have some deep mental trauma, want to talk about it?' or do I go for more of a 'Hey Weiss, anything on your mind?'"

Yang smirked, knowing Ruby would likely come up with something sweet and endearing regardless of what she actually meant. That or something hilarious like her detective impersonation the previous day. Yang wasn't sure what Ruby's feelings were for the heiress and whether or not they were entirely platonic, but she let the fact that she had to pay for six airship tickets distract her from that. Weiss better pay for at least some of this. A broke Yang was not a happy Yang, and all the team knew to avoid Yang when she was royally pissed off.

A low, loud rumbling signified that their ride was about to take off, and instantly Ruby was the excitable child she often acted like, looking out of the window with her eyes full of wonder and joy. Yang and Blake shared a glance, knowing that Ruby still was that child at heart despite all the trauma she had witnessed in her short life. It was quite remarkable how she was able to put all that behind her and focus on enjoying herself and maintaining a sometimes infuriating cheerfulness.

The volume of the mighty engines died down slightly and the vibrations throughout the cabin they were in ceased as the airship lifted itself away from the pad at Beacon and headed towards a foreboding range of mountains that marked the boundary between Vytal and Atlas. Although they had all taken this route before, each of the three girls felt a certain amount of glee as they soared above the vast forests of Vytal. Imposing green conifers rose like spikes from the ground, mighty oaks spread their branches to cover the ground below in shadow. Their enjoyment was mitigated slightly by the knowledge that beneath the canopy the creatures of Grimm would be lurking, but they had another problem to be dealing with right now.

With it being a Sunday, the airship was an older model than the sleek and sophisticated craft that normally ferried people around Remnant. The modern stylings of blues and white were replaced by deep greens and majestic gold's giving the carriage an almost regal feel to it, and the seats were made of solid oak panels instead of the usual padded seats. Honestly, it was a wonder the thing had working engines! There was seating for four in their carriage, but the three girls spent most of their time stood up gawking out of the window. Only when a kindly old woman came round to check their tickets did they cease their gazing, and even then only momentarily. It wasn't often that they got to relax like this, and given their line of work things weren't likely to improve. Because of this, they tried their hardest to make the most of it, not knowing when the next such rest might occur.

"Hey… Yang?" Ruby asked hesitantly, fiddling with the edge of her cloak as she did so, "can I, you know, ask you a few things?"

This got Yang's attention instantly; Ruby wasn't normally like this when around people she knew. Sure, when meeting total strangers, but her teammates? Something must be up.

"Of course Rubes, what's eatin' ya?" Yang responded with a slight frown, hoping that Ruby wouldn't have another breakdown.

"Well… doyouhaveacrushonBlake?" Ruby gasped out, the words mangled together into some horrifying perversion of the English language. It did a number on Yang, who just stood there looking slightly brain-dead and very confused, but Blake seemed to hear because her cheeks flushed instantly and she stared at her leader incredulously. It was as though the faunus just couldn't grasp the concept Ruby was trying to convey.

"Huh? Speak up sis; I can't hear you when you mumble." Yang casually said with a shrug.

"Do you h-MPH!" Ruby's attempt to reiterate was cut off by Blake's hand clasped tightly around her mouth, the flustered faunus throwing herself at her teammate in a desperate bid to stymie the question.

"N-nothing to worry about here, Yang, I'm just taking Ruby for a quick walk is all!" Blake's face was distorted by a clearly fake smile, the panic in her eyes betraying the calm demeanour she was trying to portray. The two girls left in a flash, Ruby looking terrified over Blake's clasped hand.

"Huh. Well that was weird." Yang said to herself, sitting down on the wooden seat behind her and gazing off into the middle distance, a faint smile still visible on her face.

"Blake! What was that for?" Ruby whined, her distress clear in her face. For all the world she looked like a kicked puppy, and even Blake's resolve was starting to waver.

"I-I'm sorry Ruby, but I needed to talk to you about this. About… us," She began with a sigh, "We've been together on this team, the four of us, for almost a year now. And in that time, I can genuinely say that the three of you have become some of my staunchest allies and best friends." Blake looked down at the younger girl as she said this, an adoring look on her face as she took in the younger teen.

"I suppose it's only natural that there comes a point where those feelings become more than platonic." She let these words sink in, knowing that Ruby might not have quite cottoned on to where she was going with this. The slight tilt of her head and the confused look adorning her face made an undeniably cute response, and Blake blushed ever so slightly as she began to elaborate.

"Ruby, do you know what I mean when I say that I love you all as teammates?" Blake started, feeling seriously uncomfortable having this conversation. Still, better here than with Yang, or worse, Weiss.

"Of course! It's like how people love their parents, right?"

"Y-yes Ruby, it's similar to that. I trust you all with my life, and I would hope that you would do the same for me," Blake deliberately paused here, not quite sure how to proceed, "Sometimes, however, there comes a point where you go from loving someone to being _in_ love with someone."

"O-oh." Ruby stammered, her face flaring up as the penny finally dropped. Blake wasn't faring much better, a deep, crimson blush colouring both her cheeks. "Blake, I-I… wow." Was all Ruby could manage, the young girl struggling to fully comprehend what was being said. Blake gave her a moment to say anything else, and when nothing was forthcoming, she continued.

"Y-you guys are my team, and you're a great leader Ruby, but I've felt a certain level of attraction towards more than one of team RWBY. I know that people look down on same-sex relationships, and human-faunus relationships even more, but I'm not going to deny my feelings. I've spent too long trying to pretend to be someone else, trying to hide who I really am. If I can't be honest with myself, why should you guys ever trust me?"

A slight inflection and a small whimper accompanied the end of Blake's mini-speech, and Ruby looked up to see tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. Normally, Ruby would have rushed to Blake's side and pulled her into an embrace, but after the recent revelations, she wasn't sure whether that would help or hinder her friend. Instead, she gently rested a hand on Blake's shoulder, silently offering support. They stood like this for a while, the occasional stranger passing them as they travelled the airship, before a loud and boisterous voice brought them to.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you two, what took so long? Oh, and we're getting off in three stops, so you might want to get your things together. I mean, it won't be for another half hour or so, but the last thing we want is to be stuck in the middle of Atlas." Yang happily proclaimed, completely oblivious to the awkwardness of the situation. Blake turned to her partner and was about to speak when Ruby cut her off.

"Yang, can we talk? It's not much, it's just… stuff." Ruby seemed uncertain in herself; a trait not common in the teenager. Instinctively, Yang's mothering side kicked in and she knelt down in front of her sister and took Ruby's hands in her own.

"Hey, Rubes. It's okay, whatever it is you don't have to worry," Yang began, slowly rubbing her thumbs over the back of Ruby's hands to help calm her sister, "Is it Weiss again?" As she said the heiress' name, her voice took on a slightly bitter tone and her hands subconsciously squeezed Ruby's a little harder. Yang didn't _hate_ Weiss, but she certainly disliked the way she seemed to think herself the best thing to happen to Beacon this year. That and the way she would lash out at others made their relationship rocky at best.

"No, no, it's nothing to do with Weiss. It's more about… us." Ruby muttered, unaware that she had reused Blake's phrase. "Yang, do you ever have, you know, feelings?"

The blonde snorted at this, diffusing the situation somewhat, "Of course I do sis; that's what makes us human, right?" Her typical grin had re-emerged and was plastered over her face. Totally unaware of the point Ruby was trying to make, Yang was content to just retort with her usual repertoire of puns and jokes, thinking that Ruby was messing with her.

"Yeah, I guess… Wait, no! I mean, feelings for other people, feelings where things get beyond… platypus? No that's not right. Playwright? Nope, not it either, erm..." Ruby struggled, forgetting what Blake had said. She knew it began with pla-, but she couldn't remember the word for the life of her.

"Platonic, Ruby, the word you're searching for is platonic." Blake decided to help out her leader and sauntered over to the two sisters, her face a picture of calm. Inside though, she was freaking out big time; this could very easily go very badly wrong.

"Y-yeah, thanks Blake," Ruby continued, "Platonic. Do you ever have feelings that are beyond platonic?"

Yang was silent for a second, her expression studious. It wasn't often she'd focus like this when not in a combat situation, and Ruby began to worry that she'd said or done something to offend her sister. Countless possibilities, each completely farfetched, flashed through Ruby's tired mind. _Maybe Yang didn't like the possibility of others thinking about her like this? Maybe she thought they were trying to trick her? Maybe she's lost someone close to her, like a sister? Wait, hang on: I'm her sister!_

As Ruby had an internal freak-out, Blake caught the attention of her partner. Yang glanced her way and they locked eyes, neither side seeming willing to break eye contact. Blake tried to convey her message through her gaze, willing Yang to understand the turmoil and the uncertainty she was feeling. Blake had always been taught to bury her emotions, to avoid letting that weakness show. Years of constant reinforcement had left her convinced that these feelings would be exploited by both her enemies and any who would dare call themselves her friends, but she couldn't believe that anymore. She couldn't believe that her team would do that to her.

Yang seemed to understand, and she pulled Ruby into a quick hug, still not taking her eyes off Blake, before making her way over to the faunus. "You and I need to have a serious talk when this is all over. Possibly involving my sister and Weiss." The way Yang said this left no room for negotiation; not that Blake would try. She was apprehensive, but cautiously optimistic.

The three girls made their way back to their carriage in an uneasy silence. Sure, the issues raised by Blake had been postponed, but there was still the whole thing regarding Weiss to deal with, and none of them really knew what to do in that respect.

The remainder of their journey passed, and they exited the airship in Atlas Central, suitcases firmly clutched in hand. Ruby gave a little gasp, and her teammates turned to see what it was. High above them, situated on a colossal mountain, was one of the best luxury resorts in Remnant, the reflection of the sun in immaculate windows visible even from down here. It went unsaid, but they all thought the same thing: Weiss.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Aren't you all lucky? I got such a positive response to the last chapter that I thought I'd work super hard to put out another one for you all. So I did! It isn't quite as long as the previous chapters, but it's got a lot that goes on.**

**I will warn you; this chapter has a lot of angst in it. To be fair, this is about as bad as it's likely to get, but it is quite emotional here. I continue to own nothing pertaining to RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 8

The second airship they boarded was far more luxurious than the first; only a very few companies ran services that stopped off at the resort, and almost all of those were quite high-end. The carriages were more spacious and cleaner, and although the colour scheme was still green and gold, this airship managed to make it look less tacky somehow. Ruby certainly seemed to think so, the excitable girl practically bouncing in her seat. On occasion she would once again look out of the window, but this journey would be both shorter and less scenic, so the view was less dramatic.

Blake and Yang both stared at the younger girl in amazement, failing to comprehend how she could be this animated and cheerful after the turmoil of the past few days. Yang was very deliberately not looking at Blake, preferring instead to focus on Ruby, her hair, anything but Blake, and her raven-haired companion felt waves of anguish every time she glanced up and saw the concentration on the blonde's face. A deep sense of shame gripped Blake, and she felt like her stomach was being squeezed internally; every emotion, every feeling being amplified by the hurt.

The White Fang had taught her that this would happen. Show love to a human, receive none in return. That had been an unspoken mantra for years within the cult, and even though she didn't understand it at the time, she had always sworn by it when questioned. Deep within her, a part of Blake knew that Yang wasn't acting this way because she was faunus, but all the ingrained messages, all the hidden code and scripture was hard to ignore. Though she may loathe it at the moment, Blake Belladonna knew she had been brought up to hate humans, and a large part of her still did. And at the moment, all that hate and distrust was directed towards Yang.

For her part, Yang felt slightly betrayed by Blake. Whether intentional or not, Blake had managed to drive a wedge firmly between the three of them in the carriage, and whilst Blake might not know it, the way Ruby was reacting was her way of being in denial. Yang could see that her sister was trying her best to keep busy, to keep her mind off the conversation they had had previously. Ruby was still young, and this trip was for her and Weiss, not Blake. Had Blake planned this from the beginning? Lure Weiss away with promises of a holiday so she was left with the two of them? Yang's mind ran through these possibilities and subconsciously a snarl found its way onto her face and her hands clenched ever tighter.

"Hey Yang? Do you think everyone back at Beacon would like to hear about this? I mean, some of them have never been to Atlas before, and this is a pretty expensive resort as well."

Ruby's voice brought Yang back to reality, though it did nothing to lighten her mood. She had forgotten that she was the one paying for all of this, and thinking of Weiss lounging in luxury at her expense caused her snarl to deepen. Sighing through the anger, she turned to face her sister, trying to keep a straight face as she did so.

"Sure Rubes, give them a call. Maybe take a picture or two. That ought to cheer them up." She finished curtly, failing to keep the venom out of her voice. Yang felt bad about this; it wasn't Ruby she was angry with, but she was the unfortunate soul who asked her the question. Fortunately, Ruby either didn't pick up on this or chose to ignore it.

"Ooh, yeah! They'd love that! Do you think we'll be able to get a picture of Beacon from where we're staying? You know, give a bit of perspective?"

Yang chuckled at this despite herself; from where they were staying the only realm you could see was Atlas. Vytal was a good few hundred miles away and hidden behind an imposing range of mountains, and Beacon wasn't exactly on the border. "Sorry Rubes, I don't think it's visible from the resort."

"Oh. Well I'm sure we'll be able to get some good pictures anyway, right Blake?"

Said faunus glanced up at her leader, shocked that she was even bothering talking to her. Realising that she should say something, she blurted out the first thing in her head, "O-of course! I mean, Weiss'll be there!"

The instant Blake said that she regretted it. Ruby's face almost imperceptibly fell, and she took a sharp intake of air. Yang glared at the ground, eyes burning and flashing dangerously from lilac to red; a sure sign that she was about to get _seriously_ angry. Bringing up the dynamic between Ruby and Weiss was not advisable at the best of times, and this most certainly was not the best of times. Ruby seemed to be frozen, not continuing her line of questioning, and Yang continued staring daggers at the floor.

The unmistakeable whirring sound of Ember Celica activating brought both Blake and Ruby out of their mini reveries, and they saw Yang pushing herself up out of her seat and heading towards the door. The way she maintained eye contact with the floor and the slump of her shoulders were both worrying signs, and the two girls began to worry about the structural integrity of the airship. Very few things could withstand an angry Yang, and at the moment she was downright furious.

"Yang," Ruby cautiously asked, "where are you going?"

"I don't know." She snarled back, slamming the door behind her and leaving the mood in the carriage at an all-time low.

* * *

Blake was painfully aware how much the current situation mirrored the one earlier, but she pushed that to the back of her mind. Right now, the most important thing was to prevent Yang from destroying their ride and to disembark at the station, and given that they were due in about ten minutes, it didn't leave any time for dawdling.

"C'mon Ruby, we need to go and find her!" She exclaimed, a note of panic evident in her voice. Ruby looked at her for a second, and Blake was almost sure she was about to cry, but fortunately she nodded and got up, her breath still slightly uneven.

The two girls hurriedly searched the airship, reasoning that Yang couldn't have gotten far. After asking the inhabitants of the other carriages on their level as politely as possible, Blake realised they were running out of time. If she took the upper deck and Ruby the lower two, they may well find their teammate before they arrived. If not? Well, Yang wasn't exactly the type to cool off on her own, at least not without breaking things. Quickly explaining her plan to Ruby, Blake set off for the upper deck as fast as she dared.

Even in relatively clear weather, very few people braved the upper decks of airships. The speed they travelled combined with their altitudes made for a blustery journey, and the proximity to the engines made it almost impossible to hear anyone beside you. Blake didn't really expect to find Yang here, and the only reason she even bothered was because she didn't want to get in Ruby's way searching downstairs. Nevertheless, she was still prepared to search every corner to find her partner. Perhaps fortunately, this proved unnecessary.

As soon as Blake opened the door to the upper deck, she instinctively shielded her sensitive ears from the roar of the mighty engines. Even for humans it was unpleasant, and for her faunus hearing it was almost unbearable. Wincing slightly at the pain, she scanned the deck briefly, only to stop when she saw her.

A yellow mane of hair billowed around Yang's powerful shoulders, strands occasionally whipping her in the face but she did nothing to stop them. Instead, she just stared at Blake with tear-stained eyes, the wind periodically picking up a tear and carrying it away. The normally confident posture of the blonde was now slack and weak, her resolve seemingly crushed. For all the world, Yang reminded Blake of a banshee, a beautiful, horrifying banshee. Even so, the intensity of her eyes caused Blake to shrink inside herself, her confident façade cast aside by the piercing gaze. Blake was about to say something when Yang walked towards her, pushing past and entering the relative quiet of the stairwell.

"Y-Yang, wait!" Blake choked out, still unsure how to proceed. She began to reach out a hand to her partner but thought better of it and retracted it slowly. When Yang replied, deliberately not looking at Blake, it was low and menacing, yet also brittle and hurt. The raw emotion flowing through her words almost caused Blake to flinch.

"Everything you've done today has made things worse. Ruby's distraught enough with what's going on with Weiss, why did you think it was alright to be so selfish? Could you not keep your feelings to yourself for one day?" Yang paused here, her voice almost a whisper and about two octaves below what it normally was, "And then, you brought up Weiss. Why would you do that? Does the rest of this team mean nothing to you?"

Yang's words stung. Blake felt herself being torn apart, her flimsy argument being ripped to shreds by Yang's accusations. Struggling against her own tears that were building up, she managed a reply, "O-of course you do. Y-you all mean so much t-to me. Yang, why are you saying these things?"

Her teammate waited a long time before replying, and when she did it was almost imperceptible. "Because I'm not sure that this can continue. I'm not sure team RWBY can continue any more. Between you and Weiss, you've torn us apart. Can I trust you on the battlefield? Can I trust that you won't turn your back on us, or let your own personal feelings become more important than the rest of us? I don't know Blake, I honestly don't know."

Desperate to try and salvage something, anything of their friendship, Blake opened up. Maybe being truly honest with Yang would be enough.

"Yang, listen. All this is a mask. Every morning I put on a mask, a façade, so that people won't see who I am. All my life I've had to hide from people, from friends. I can't keep it up, I can't hide forever. I thought you'd be able to understand, to help me through this. You guys mean so, so much to me, and I don't know what I can say to make you understand. I showed who I was to the world and all I got was indifference from Ruby and hatred from you. What have I done wrong Yang?"

Yang paused and slowly turned around to look at Blake. Both girls looked an absolute state, faces raw and red, tear streaks down their faces, hair dishevelled. In any other situation, Yang might have cracked a joke, but not now. Not when they were both this broken.

"Maybe… Maybe you should just keep that mask on."

The words were so quiet that even with her faunus hearing Blake struggled to make them out, but they resonated deep within her. Blake knew she would carry the scars from this conversation for the rest of her life, and that one sentence from Yang kept echoing through her mind. Barely struggling it out through a sheen of tears, Blake tried one last throw of the dice.

"But what about your own feelings?"

Yang held her gaze, and Blake saw the conflict behind those eyes. It was almost as though she was looking into the blonde's very soul, her feelings laid bare to the other girl. When she spoke, that conflict shone through and Blake detected the emotion and hurt in her voice.

"My feelings don't matter. I can't put myself ahead of my team. And if you can't manage to do that as well, I don't know if there's anything left for us."

That was it, the final nail in the coffin. Yang had just crushed a part of Blake with those words, just as Blake's earlier had done to her. Great rifts had been opened, and whilst it would be possible to fix given time, the two could never look at each other the same again. Blake was vaguely aware that Yang had left and that she should do the same, and she must have subconsciously done so because she found herself stood on the airpad, suitcase lying on the floor by her feet and Yang and Ruby nowhere in sight. A significant part of her was tempted just to stay there, reeling from the emotional hammer-blow that Yang had dealt her, but she forced herself onwards. At the very least, Weiss needed her help, and she needed to help her, if not for the heiresses sake then for her own.

* * *

**AN: See what I mean? There will be eventual romance, but I want to write a story with meaning to it, not one that just develops into mindless smut or something. For anyone wondering about Weiss, she'll show up next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Welcome one and all to both a very important Authors Note and the ninth instalment in my current series. The last chapter might have had a bit much in terms of angst, but that has been slightly diluted now. I just want to say thank you to all the people who have taken the time to read this, and a special thank you to those who reviewed, followed or favourited. I had no idea I'd reach almost 3000 views for this, so to do so means a lot. You guys are awesome!**

**I'll just shamelessly plug some other people's work for a bit, if you don't want to read that then skip this paragraph: I suggest checking out both ARMV7, who writes Bumbleby very well, and Sylavian, who is currently writing a top quality White Rose fic. Also, it would be great if you could check out Animewarrior12. She's working on a fic called "Oh no!" and I've helped her on the latest chapter. She still has a bit of a way to learn, but showing her some love would really help her out.**

**Lastly, some slightly bad news. Due to a series of events, some positive, others not so, I have significantly less time to work on my stories at the moment, and this makes things difficult. I don't want to turn out below average work, but I also don't want to leave you all waiting for months for each chapter. So I've set up a poll on my profile for you to vote on what you want me to focus on. I'll leave it open for long enough to get a good feel for what you want, but you can always PM me to add anything if you think it's relevant. Also, two options on the poll say for you to PM me with details: please do this! I want to please you guys, but I can't do so when I don't know exactly what you mean!**

**I claim no ownership of RWBY or its characters.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Ruby looked excitedly at Yang, the younger teen bouncing on her heels in anticipation. The sisters had left the landing pad and headed towards the well-signposted Tourist Information centre, the reason being that neither of them had the slightest idea where the hotel that Weiss was staying was. All they had was an address, and although the town was small, they really didn't have time to go chasing around every street and back-alley to find it. Unfortunately for them, the door to the centre appeared locked and a single piece of paper was hastily taped to the door with the words "Back in five" scribbled across it.

Perched atop her suitcase, Yang casually cast her gaze around the town, taking in the sounds and sights of the bustling people. Given that it was midday on a Sunday, she guessed it was quieter than normal, but she was still s bit surprised by the lack of serious crowds. Her vision starting to blur slightly, Yang blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes around her sunglasses. Ostensibly, Yang was wearing her Aviators to block out the glare from the snow, but they also helped hide her tear-stained eyes and raw skin where tears had built up. She exhaled heavily, watching her breath condense in the cooler air and begin its ascent into the sky.

The two girls had now been waiting just over ten minutes, and Ruby was seriously considering cutting her losses and heading into town to just explore. Yang meanwhile was considering breaking down the door, but she knew that would accomplish nothing. She had been in a foul mood ever since the airship, ever since her altercation with Blake. Ruby either hadn't picked up on this or was ignoring it, but Yang was inwardly furious. How dare Blake act like that? Couldn't she see what it was doing to her team? Couldn't she see what it was doing to Yang? Biting back tears yet again, Yang registered Ruby's voice and focused in on it in an attempt to avoid her turmoil.

"Do you think it's worth trying to find the place ourselves?"

Forcing a smile, Yang looked down sympathetically at her sister. "Sorry Rubes, I don't think we'll be able to find the place any time soon just wandering around. Neither of us are particularly good with directions at the best of times."

Ruby nodded slightly dejectedly, and her winning smile flickered slightly before returning full force. It seemed Ruby was not so easily broken, and it sent a surge of confidence through Yang to see her sister like this. As an elder sister, she was always proud of Ruby, but it was moments like this, moments when she showed just how mature she could be, that Yang felt honoured to be related to her. Sure, Yang could and did pummel people to a bloody pulp with her fists, but Ruby was in many ways stronger than her. She hadn't lashed out at Blake, and she was the one arranging a trip to console her teammate.

Weiss better bloody thank her, Yang thought darkly, not entirely sure how she wanted to proceed with the heiress. They _were_ on the same team, but after the stress of the past few days, Yang wasn't sure how exactly she viewed the white-haired girl. Certainly better than Blake at the moment, Yang thought bitterly as her face began to contort into an unconscious snarl. She was so preoccupied with her anger and resentment that she didn't notice the wiry man scurry to the closed door and remove the sign, nor did she register the swinging open of the doors and the blast of warm air that enveloped her. It was only Ruby's calling of her name that brought her to once more, the blonde looking sheepishly down at her leader.

"Yang, were you daydreaming again?" Ruby jokingly chastised, a grin stretched across her features.

"Yeah, something like that…" Yang replied distantly, her mind still occupied with how she would deal with her teammates. Certainly there had to be some changes, but what and for whom she could not say.

Stepping forward, Yang felt a distinct drop in temperature as she moved out of range of the heater tactically positioned above the entrance. Pouting at this, the brawler nevertheless proceeded across the carpeted floor, her boots trailing snow for the first few steps before coming to a stop at the counter. Stood behind it, looking at her eagerly and breathing heavily, was a thin wiry man maybe in his late twenties, clad in a flowery shirt and slacks and with a pair of glasses resting on his nose.

"Sorry about all that, I was busy dealing with stock. It's ridiculous; what kind of company delivers on a Sunday? Honestly, there should be some sort of law against it!"

Yang waited patiently for him to finish his mini-rant, taking the time to fully browse the centre. Four stone walls formed the basis of the building, each lined with horizontal wood panelling, pine by the looks of it, from about waist height up. Below the panels were countless small bookshelves and cabinets, all roughly the same height and just about covering the first panel, though Yang could see the rugged grey stone bricks in some of the gaps between cabinets. A maroon tiled carpet extended throughout the room, stopping only at the entrance and a door that presumably led into employee only areas. A few darker patched were visible where the snow from her boots had dropped off and melted. Slanted windows lined each wall except the one with the entrance, a significant build-up of snow on one side evident, though none of them were entirely clear. Ruby was staring out of one of the windows in amazement, as though the view wasn't exactly the same as outside. Yang chuckled a little at this, finding her sister's behaviour undeniably adorable.

Speaking louder than normal in an effort to be heard over the buzz of the heater, Yang cut the man's speech short. "Look, I'm sorry for interrupting but we really are short on time. Can you tell us where this place is?" she queries, handing him the slip of paper. He squinted down his glasses for a second before smiling and nodding, sketching a small map on the paper for them to follow. Yang quickly thanked him and dragged her sister out by her hood, determined to get this over with.

* * *

Blake stood at the entrance to the hotel, anxiety running through her mind. She'd found it relatively quickly and was now steeling herself for what she had to do. Weiss wasn't as much of an issue as she had thought, but Blake was certain that Ruby and Yang were in there given their head-start; it wasn't as though the hotel was exactly hard to find after all. Checking once again that she had the right address, even though she was sure, Blake sighed and entered the reception.

When in a state of heightened emotional conflict, Blake was adept at taking all the little details in. It was something she had learnt in the White Fang: when in any form of danger, always be on the lookout for an escape route. That training was being put to good use as Blake stood nervously on the slightly thicker mat for guests to wipe their feet before entering, fingers tingling as the warmer air from the hotel seeped into her frozen extremities. She saw the clearly disinterested secretary put on a professional smile to greet some incoming guests. A young couple were descending the staircase, and Blake noticed the slight limp in the man's walking, him favouring his left foot ever so slightly. An aroma from nearby kitchens wafted by and Blake took in the heavy smell of spices and preservatives, and she briefly wondered why they allowed such a smell to fill the entrance before remembering that this place had likely been designed by humans. It was only with her heightened senses that she was able to detect anything at all, and no human would be able to smell it.

The scuffed staircase, the slight flickering of the lighting, the slightly ajar deposit box behind the reception; all this and more was taken in by Blake as she surveyed the building. Realising she had been staring, Blake hurried over to the receptionists desk at a brisk walk, her cheeks lightly coloured by embarrassment.

"Hello there young lady, do you have a reservation?" The fake smile plastered across the woman manning the counter was painfully obvious to Blake and it was all she could do not to snarkily snap back. Besides, she wasn't a 'young lady', she was nearly an adult! Begrudgingly letting it drop Blake replied, though not without a slight twitch of her bow.

"Erm no, I was wondering whether you could point me in the direction of Weiss Schnee's room?"

Blake phrased the question as a statement, almost laying down a challenge to the other woman, seeing how she would react.

"I'm sorry ma'am but we don't give out details about any clients who may or may not be staying here without their informed consent." There it was again, that smile. This time though it was accompanied by a patronising and demeaning tone, and she'd made the serious mistake of saying 'ma'am'. Very few people called Blake Belladonna 'ma'am' and got away unscarred.

Blake's face of general indifference very subtly changed to one of slight annoyance, but otherwise her countenance didn't change and she simply tried a different tack.

"Surely it would be possible to ring up to her room and let her know I'm here? It's very important, and her not knowing would seriously lessen the pleasure of her visit. I'm sure that a fine and respectable member of staff such as yourself wouldn't want that over their heads now, would they?" Blake deliberately over-emphasised both 'fine' and 'respectable' to get her point across better. If this woman wanted to try and shrug her off, she had another thing coming. A part of Blake seriously wanted to get catty with the woman, especially given her inherent natural advantage, but she stayed her tongue.

"Well any respectable member of staff wouldn't take kindly to thinly-veiled threats like that. If you want to leave a message then you can. Otherwise, I ask that you please respect the privacy of our guests." The cursed smile returned, the receptionist looking for all the world like a grinning hyena, though Blake took slight satisfaction in seeing her berate herself for letting slip that Weiss was indeed staying there.

"Thank you but no. I'm sorry to have wasted your time." Blake replied in a sickeningly sweet tone, this somehow more offensive than any insult. She turned to leave but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a thoroughly ruffled brunette rush through the door, a red cape following in her wake. And if Ruby was here that could only mean…

"Hi, we were wonde-" a cheerful voice began but then stopped suddenly as Yang saw who else was standing in the foyer.

* * *

The two girls stood stock-still, staring at each other, their faces etched with emotion. Blake looked upon her partner with fear and regret, scared that this might be the last time the two ever interacted but terrified that Yang would wound her even more than she had already done. Yang glared at Blake with a mixture of anger and sorrow, a flicker of hope flashing across her eyes briefly before being swallowed again by the crushing despair. Some of the guests at the hotel had noticed this altercation and slowly backed around them, but neither of them saw this, their attention focussed solely on each other.

"Y-Yang." Blake croaked out, her throat painfully dry and her voice hoarse. She desperately wanted to leave, to escape from the torturous position she was in at the moment but her legs were rooted in place. In her panicked state, Blake's mind was playing horrifying tricks on her, forcing her to see hate in Yang's eyes when none existed and casting terrible shadows over her thoughts. Yang for her part looked like every second in Blake's presence was hurting her deeply, and the anguish on her face was almost as extreme as her partner's. A few people were entering the hotel and had to squeeze past Yang, loudly voicing their displeasure as they did so, but neither girl heard them.

"Guys, can we not do this here?" Ruby asked cautiously, worried that something serious would happen, and the reception of a hotel was not exactly the most inconspicuous of places. She was vaguely aware of the receptionist leaving her desk and bolting upstairs, most likely to escape the potential showdown.

"I didn't think you'd come." Yang's voice was low and quiet, barely carrying to Blake. Said girl ominously noticed how similar the tone and lack of inflexions was to their conversation aboard the airship, but declined to comment on it for fear of exacerbating an already serious situation.

"I came for Weiss." Blake responded, the words sounding unfamiliar and alien in her mouth. She realised the incidental innuendo, and willed Yang to take notice and comment, but her blonde partner simply sighed and continued staring.

"Don't lie Blake, we both know you only came on this trip for yourself. You know I can't stand liars, don't become one now." The emotionless voice was far more hurtful to Blake than any barrage of insults and curses, and she felt broken once again, unable to come up with any form of response.

Yang seemed distant, and Blake wondered why exactly, but she lacked the confidence or the willpower to do so. She had no idea how long they had been stood there but it must have been close to five minutes. With heavy heart Yang opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a voice that was barely a whisper but resonated around the entrance louder than a mighty bellow. Instantly Blake thought she recognised it, but she was terrified she was right.

"Will someone please tell me what exactly is going on here?"

Blake saw both Yang's and Ruby's eyes look past her to someone behind them all, and she felt herself turning round painstakingly slowly. Stood atop the first floor staircase leaning on the banister for support with the receptionist looking sheepish at her side, was a frail girl, her hair dishevelled and wild and her clothes wrinkled and creased. At this distance, Blake could make out her face, and the red rings around her eyes and the quivering of her jaw pointed to the fact that she was in a poor state. The occasional twitch of her shoulders highlighted this even more, and her pale skin gave her an almost unearthly feel. She cut a haunting figure and looked decidedly different to when Blake had last seen her. Despite this, Blake knew she was right.

They had found Weiss once again.

* * *

**AN: So that was that! I don't know how much more to do for this, I have ideas that could take it to 20 chapters or I could finish it with ten. I'll have a think about it, but once again if you have a preference then please just let me know. Sorry for the double AN.**


	10. AN

**Ok, so I'm sorry to be posting this instead of the next chapter, but it needs to be said.**

**At the moment, a lot of stuff's going on in my life, and it's getting really bad. Sure, I'm busy with university and everything but my health has deteriorated far too much, and it means that I'm struggling to keep going. I don't want to let these issues, which are more than just a large workload, ruin me, so I'm taking a break from this for a while. It's not an easy decision but I feel it's necessary not only for my health but for the quality of my work.**

**Sorry if you expected the next chapter, but if I'm honest almost nobody reads my work anyway.**

**Hopefully I'll be able to continue if I get better, and even if I don't I'd like to thank you all for taking the time to help me out by reading my work. When I post a new chapter and I see the occasional review, follow or favourite come through it helps make my day. So thank you once again.**

**In the meantime, I'm not sure where to go with any of my works, so if you have any suggestions then let me know. It'll probably be the difference between me dropping this account and continuing with it. You guys truly are the best, and if you haven't already I'd love it if you could go and read Experiencing New Rhythms by TheBrokenBottle: it's a great story that I've helped with a bit.**

**Respectfully,**

**YellowSign.**


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